Fateful Night
by ShleyAay123
Summary: Pitch Black is an immortal vampire forced to wander the dark, empty streets on an empty stomach. But then, on a single fateful night, his entire life is thrown into chaos when he stumbles across the most beautiful merman he has ever seen. PitchXJack, Blackice.
1. Chapter 1

Pitch Black did not believe in fate, but he supposed if there were indeed such a thing, he would consider it a cruel and unrelenting force.

Unable to walk in the light of day, it was rare to find a decent meal nowadays. Young children were forbidden to wander the vacant streets of night unaccompanied anymore, and rebellious lovers no longer had to meet in the shadows of empty parks and grassy hills to indulge in their physical desires. No, instead he was often forced to travel down the damp alleyways of known drug dealers and crowded bars in a desperate search for an easy target to hunt. The stench of ethanol and hydrochloric salt that coursed through the veins of the human vermin he was forced to feast upon was almost enough to make him gag—but a being as ancient and proud as he would never give in to such a dismal reflex.

On the best and worst of days, he much preferred the smaller towns of the coastal states, rich in thick forests and deep caves cut from jagged sea cliffs. While scarce in a vast blood supply, these locations offered him the small comfort of idyllic resting places for a vampire—dark, secluded, and filled with shadows for him to bend to his will. The caves he often sought for refuge were usually uninhabited due to their dangerous position among the rocks, and he was content in his solitude as the sun rose mockingly in the sky day after day. The moon was just as taunting in its splendor, though its precious light did not burn his grey flesh and force him into hiding. Still, he chose to ignore the pale orb among the darkened clouds as he stepped out along the slick, rocky shores that surrounded his most recent dwelling.

The night would most likely end in disappointment and an empty stomach. He had gone hungry many times before, of course, and he would undoubtedly go hungry again. However, he had nothing better to do, and a little exercise had yet to bring about his demise.

The primordial vampire allowed the shadows to dance in weaving tendrils around the hem of his black trenchcoat as it drifted across the stones behind him. He made sure to advance along the shoreline more carefully than usual, eyeing the still-glistening boulders that had fallen victim to the roaring storm earlier that morning. He had actually been quite enthralled with the height and ferocity of the ocean waves as the winds howled and wrestled in a childish tantrum not uncommon this far north. While the storm had passed many hours prior, he had been around long enough to know which violent outbursts left lasting impressions upon their elemental brethren that could result in a most unbecoming slip and tumble. So, he moved with caution, keeping his gaze fixed upon the ground as he turned away from the rocks and—oh!

_Oh_!

Just as Pitch set his intentions on the town beyond the beach, a gentle breeze carried the most delectable scent of untainted blood to his nose. He stood completely frozen as the smell sent delighted shivers down his spine, his parched throat suddenly tight and painful. Head tilted back and eyes fluttering shut, the tall vampire inhaled and sent his shadows out to find the source.

Such a mouth-watering delight—alive and vibrant, aged beyond that of any feeble human essence, and simply dripping with panic and helplessness! He could already taste a hint of magic hidden beneath a strong tang of salt and calcium carbonate, mixed with the dry but sweet aftertaste of juniper berries. What fine creature of legend had fallen so perfectly into his clutches after years of human scraps, he wondered?

The shadows returned to him just as the smell began to fade in its intensity, directing him to a tall cluster of black stones further down the bank and surrounded on all sides by gently rolling sea foam. His boots crunched and slipped against the dull gravel in his haste to reach the wide but shallow crevice in the earth, though he still had enough self-control to keep his guard up in the event of a defensive attack from his unsuspecting prey. Using the shadows to push him up the slick surface of the high rocks, he knelt into a deep crouch and bared two rows of fangs in a threatening hiss.

The sight that met his eyes stole all noise from his throat in an instant.

If the moon and the ocean had a passionate love affair, the beautiful creature huddled fearfully against one of the many rocks would have most certainly been their child. The boy appeared young and lean, with skin as pale and pure as the stars floating freely in the night sky above them. White tresses dampened by the crisp, unforgiving waters of the ocean deep fell in disarray as though caressed by the playful winter air. Wide eyes the color of crackling ice over darkened tide pools stared up at him, full of a fear masked by the wild fury of an animal cornered and having nothing left to lose.

The water was shallow enough that he could clearly see the shape of a long tail twitching nervously against the jagged rocks poking out of the sandy ground, flattened scales arranged in shades of blue that darkened the closer they came to the large caudal fin. This and the short pelvic spines that flowed from the boy's hips were a pure white that matched his short mop of hair, flowing and translucent but by no means inefficient. Whenever his tail slipped out of the gentle current of the ocean waves around him, the silver light of the full moon would reflect off of the overlapping scales and make them sparkle like a thousand diamonds.

Pitch rose from his crouch in slow movements, keeping his expression carefully blank and meeting the gaze of the grimacing merman. The storm had clearly taken the poor creature hostage, flinging him too close to the shore and into a small, shallow prison of stones with no direct connection to the ocean beyond. Small cuts that the vampire had not immediately taken notice of marred the boy's hands and arms, small droplets of drying blood staining the pale surface an unflattering red.

Just as he thought. It would be fitting for such a stunning being to be the source of the blood his tongue now itched to taste.

"I have to say, this is quite the surprise." Pitch stated, flashing his prey a small smirk. "It's not often I run into sea folk such as yourself. Have you gotten yourself in a little bind?"

"Stay away!" A voice much deeper than he anticipated, but no less enchanting, echoed in the calm winds of the night. The merman flicked his tail out of the water in a wide arc, sending tiny bursts of sea foam flying in Pitch's direction. The ancient shadow couldn't help but chuckle. Mermen were wild and unpredictable things, often causing unintended chaos by becoming too curious about the world above the waves.

"Or what? You'll smack me in the face with your pretty fins?" He clasped his hands behind his back, straightening his posture in an effort to seem even more composed—and, thus, more intimidating.

"W-what are you?" The boy demanded. "You're not human."

"Oh, no, no, not at all!" Pitch fought down a sneer at the very thought of himself in a weak, mortal shell. "I am what those fools call a _vampire_, though I prefer the title Shadow-Bender, if I am to be honest."

"So…so do you drink blood and stuff?" The merman's eyes flicked over the dark folds of Pitch's open trenchcoat, no doubt taking special note of the thin shadows that moved of their own accord. Whether the water dweller was attempting to stall for time or simply sating a curiosity that came with his species, Pitch found himself a tad bit put off by the phrasing of such a defining inquiry. What did not bend under any circumstance, however, was the burning thirst for the luscious essence that flowed in a panicked rush beneath the merman's pale neck.

"Indeed, I do." He promised. Pitch's smirk spread in delight when his prey curled up into a tight ball of terror, the glistening blue scales shielding his bare chest from the predator's line of sight. "And you, my dear boy, smell absolutely divine."

No, Pitch Black did not believe in fate.

But, if it did exist, it could certainly be kind and generous when it wanted to be.


	2. Chapter 2

Jack had done many things in his life that he later regretted. He had annoyed a pod of orca until the protective mothers almost made a dinner out of him, frozen the surface of the Antarctic shores to watch the penguins slip and fall until they tried to peck his eyes out, and had almost been spotted porpoising by more human fishermen than he could count on both hands twice over. Every time, he swore he would attempt to be more careful, and every time after he forgot that promise. The few merpeople he had managed to find in his travels were just as wild and daring as he, but they all had families to consider or friends to protect them from doing anything too foolish. Meanwhile, he had only the playful flow of the ocean Current and the painful void of his past to keep his thoughts active.

And yet now even the Current led him astray, thrusting him head-over-tail into a violent storm along the rock-strewn northern coast.

He hadn't noticed the muffled rumble of the thunders above, nor had he stopped to wonder why the throngs of swarming sea life had suddenly burst to life in a wild attempt to reach deeper waters. By the time his common sense had kicked in, shouting such encouraging thoughts as "oh no, no, nononoNO" and "GET AWAY FROM THE POINTY ROCKS, YOU IDIOT," escape was already far out of reach. The rushing tide was stronger than he had ever experienced in his 300 years of life, and the normally powerful pulses of his long blue tail grew weak and useless within five fleeting minutes. His skin bruised and caught on the serrated points of the high walls of sandstone as he tumbled with the waves, sending droplets of crimson flying in all directions when he finally landed in a shallow yet spacious tide pool near the pebbled shoreline. It was not in his usual nature to panic, but it did not take long for the cuts to multiply from his futile attempts to climb back into the wide waters of freedom.

"No! Please, no!" The white-haired merman tried every crazy tactic that flashed into his frantic mind, including a swimming start into a high leap that almost resulted in a splitting concussion. He fought back the burning tears of frustration as tendrils of silver frost spread beneath his fingertips, dispersing into glistening streaks as soon as the salty surface came into contact with his magic.

As the rain trickled away into a thick evening mist, Jack stretched his tail in the warmer sands of his rippling prison and licked his cuts with a bitter grimace. It was unwise to waste his strength away so soon after his fight against the torrent waves of the ocean. A small, sensible part of him noticed that his fins were all intact and thanked the gods for his good fortune, but his stubborn side simultaneously cursed them for not granting him aid while in such a dire circumstance. Long minutes stretched into tortuous hours as his battle collected its toll, replacing the pulsing adrenaline in his blood with cold, unnerving whispers in his heart.

_What if I never get out of here? _

_Will anyone even be able to find me? _

_What if…what if I die here all alone? _

Just as his panic began to reach its peak, Jack felt a strange prickling on the back of his neck, a frigid brush of calloused fingertips at the far fringes of his awareness. He snapped his head around at the swift drift of movement outside his field of vision, and his head immediately swam as he caught sight of two rows of sharp fangs, parted in a menacing hiss that made his injured skin crawl. He huddled against the rock closest to his back, his throat aching with the urge to scream but far too constricted in terror to release any sound. The hiss died away as the fangs vanished behind dark lips, snapping Jack out of his frozen stupor and allowing him to properly catch a glimpse of the creature before him.

Smooth gray marble stretched over cheekbones that were sharper than the rocks that had sliced his skin open hours before. A simple black trenchcoat draped over a thin frame as the mysterious shadow rose from his deep crouch, his expression unmoving and stoic in the gentle caresses of the moonlight. Blinding eyes the color of molten treasure drifted over the merman's dripping form, staring as intently as a predator waiting to pounce. Everything about this…this…whatever he was screamed danger and agony to any creature unfortunate enough to fall into his path. And, as lousy luck would have it, the creature on that night's menu happened to be Jack.

"I have to say, this is quite the surprise." The man stated, flashing a small smirk that barely concealed the ominous jaws beneath. "It's not often I run into sea folk such as yourself. Have you gotten yourself in a little bind?"

"Stay away!" Jack was, somewhat hysterically, relieved that his voice did not waver or rise in octaves. In a gesture of valor that he did not truly feel, the merman flicked his tail out of the water in a wide arc, sending harmless bursts of sea foam flying in the creature's direction. He forced back a shiver as the man chuckled low in his throat, not even flinching in response to Jack's outburst.

"Or what? You'll smack me in the face with your pretty fins?" The man clasped his hands behind his back, rising even higher in posture and standing proud beyond the merman's farthest reach. They both knew that Jack was at the other's mercy, that he had nowhere to hide and no manner of escape to employ.

So Jack did the only thing he could do.

He kept his tongue moving.

"W-what are you?" He demanded. "You're not human."

"Oh, no, no, not at all!" For a moment, the blue-eyed boy thought he saw a flash of disgust cross the man's golden eyes. It was obvious that he wasn't mortal in any sense, but Jack was still shocked at the sudden disdain for the man's fellow land-walkers. "I am what those fools call a _vampire_, though I prefer the title Shadow-Bender, if I am to be honest."

That made Jack pause. He had heard of vampires in tales whispered by older sea creatures in the past. They were said to be cruel, shrouded beings who subsisted by feeding on the blood of careless young ones who wandered too close to the surface in the dead of night. Some laughed at the stories and claimed that fish did not contain the type of essence necessary for vampires to live. Others cried in distress until the storyteller coaxed them calm with assurances that vampires were extinct, if not purely fictitious.

Yet this man, this very real and very intimidating man, claimed to be one.

"So…so do you drink blood and stuff?" Jack's eyes wandered over the vampire's figure of their own accord, taking in the plunging open collar and the curling wisps of dark dust thereon. The man was quite muscular despite his thin build, with a chest as smooth and spotless as his sharp face. Had Jack not been so terrified of losing his life, he would have acknowledged that, in a way, the creature was morbidly handsome.

"Indeed, I do." The stranger hummed, his simple statement full of unspoken promises. The merman curled his tail close to his chest, his primal instincts vainly attempting to shield his ponding heart against the dilating orbs that burned holes into his very soul. "And you, my dear boy, smell absolutely divine."

The sneering predator leapt from his place above the waters and landed with a thick splash on two black medieval boots, gliding forward effortlessly and barely calf-deep in the rippling pool surrounding them. Jack's breath grew cold and visible in the silent air as his lungs heaved in rising horror. The display made the vampire grin even wider, his tongue flicking around his pointed teeth in an unconscious display of hunger.

This was it.

Jack was going to die.

This evil being was going to eat him—_actually eat him_! Like a lobster being ripped from its shell in pieces, only Jack would not have the luxury of having his spine broken beforehand. No, he was positive that it would be slow and painful, if the man's wide-eyed delight at the sight of his panic was any indication.

"W-wait! Wait a minute!" He cried, his voice finally breaking under the never-ending strain. His mind was retreating, blackening the edges of his vision as the words flowed from his lips in a rushing whine. "H-how long has it been since you last ate?!"

"A few weeks. You have no idea how much of a _gift_ you are, little one." The vampire was within an arm's reach now, his grin almost splitting his face in two.

"Gifts are best reused!" Jack practically shouted.

Everything stopped.

The vampire's eyebrow raised, his pale gray hand outstretched but no longer coming closer to Jack's shivering body. It took a moment for the merman to collect the pieces of his shattered self, as well as to fully comprehend the statement he had just made. Apparently, his predator felt the same.

"…pardon me?" The sickening joy in his voice had disappeared, replaced almost seamlessly with barely concealed curiosity and shock. Jack swallowed, knowing that he had little to no choice in his next few moves.

He was trapped, he was helpless, and he was pathetically desperate to live another day.

"Y'know, when people get gifts, they—they like the ones they can use over and over again." Jack had never been given a gift, of course, but he had heard that was how things worked. At this point, he didn't really care whether it was true or not. "You said that it's been a few weeks, right? How long will it be until the next one? After you—"

He cut himself off before he could whimper the words that described his unavoidable fate if his plan failed. The salty air echoed with the gentle thrashing of the ocean waves and Jack's uneven breaths. Neither party stirred for a long moment.

"I…I can help you." Jack promised. "I'll give you my blood—if you let me live."


End file.
